Collide
by xcatiex
Summary: Mary Hayes is a typical fifteen year girl who accidentally stumbles in Narnia. While there, she learns the true meaning of what happens when two people collide. Edmund/OC. Disclaimer: I only own Mary everything else belongs to C.S Lewis *HIATUS
1. Chapter 1

Collide

Chapter 1:

Two figures ran through the fresh, white snow in the backyard of a house. They laughed and screamed as they threw snowballs at one another, their smiles were wide and bright as they made snow angels. Through the frosty panes of my bedroom window I sat watching the figures, knees held to my chest and my long brown hair falling over my shoulders. I slide my finger over the chilly glass scrawling my name, Mary Hayes into the frost.

The two figures running around and having the time of their lives are my cousins. Eight year old cousin Ella and ten year old cousin William. I myself am 15 years old. You know, I used to be proud of my age and how much more mature I was then the rest of my family. But the more I watch my small cousins frolic outside, the more I envy them. The light winter wind that is letting the snow fall softly to the ground is gently pulling at the loose blonde curls of Ella's hair. It also smartens the colour in her cheeks because of how cold it is. They are a rosy pink. She looks as if she is a little cherub and it makes me smile. Again, I wish I could join them. But shaking my head, I know I cannot because of one simple thing: a history test. For tomorrow morning, a horrendous Monday morning.

I looked down at those evil pieces of paper that were scattered across my bedroom floor, the history notes that I was forced study. I picked up a few of them and upon reading their titles, I began to reorganize. After putting away all of my World War 2 notes, I decided that I might as well organize the rest. My mom would absolutely flip if she came in and saw the mess I had made while studying earlier this morning.

Now that the notes were all rearranged and in their proper binder, I put the binder into my schoolbag. As I knelt down to zip up the bag, I heard my bedroom door creak open. Startled, I looked up and saw a figure standing in the doorway all in silhouette until a flash of red hair came into view. I gave a small smile knowing exactly who it was. The silhouette stepped forward into the light coming from my bedroom window and my best friend Victoria, whom I call Vicki out of affection stood grinning in the doorway. Her fiery red hair cascading down her shoulders and her blue eyes alight with mischief as always.

"Hello!" she singsonged as I abandoned my school bag and my window seat and ran over to hug her.

"Hey!" I replied as I wrapped my arms around her. When we pulled apart and sat down on my bed, I added "I thought you were leaving to visit your aunt and uncle for the holidays today."

"I am," Vicki said. She sounded excited and I could see a happy glow in her baby blue eyes. "But you left your sweater at my house last night at the sleepover, so I thought I should return it before I left I figured you would want it when your at your grandparents house" She then produced my favourite red sweater from her trip bag and put it in my hands.

"Thanks," I said, relieved. I had been looking for it this morning as it had been a gift from my mom two years ago for my thirteenth birthday. I wore it all the time. Vicki and I talked for a little while about what she was going to do at her aunt and uncle's house and she asked me if I had finished packing for my grandparent's house, where I was going to be spending most of my Christmas holidays helping out in my Grandpa's bookstore. Vicki's phone gave a loud chirped, interrupting us.

"I have to go, Mary," said Vicki, looking crestfallen. But then she smiled sadly. "I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too" I said, hugging her tightly. "Call me when you get back though. And take LOTS of pictures!"

"I will! Oh and tell your grandparents that I say hi" she called, for she was already out of my room and down the stairs. I could hear her mother honking the van's horn outside ushering Vicki to hurry up. "Bye Mary! Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" I yelled back and then I heard the front door close. She was gone. My Vicki was gone and I was utterly alone in a sea of thoughts and stupid history notes. Great.


	2. Chapter 2

I let out a growl of frustration as I tried for what felt like the 100th time to pin up the sparkling Christmas lights outside of my family's bookstore. It was a small shop right in the middle of the downtown core that had been in my family for more than two generations now. My great-grandfather, the original owner bought the shop when he was in his late 20's and when he passed away he handed it down to my grandfather.

My mother, who was my grandfather's daughter, had never shown any interest in taking over the bookshop after my grandfather and when I was young my mom and him used to fight about it all the time. Although now they close to never fight about it because I have decided that I'm going to take over the bookstore when I'm older.

When I first decreed that I was going to run the shop after my grandfather, my mother tried to talk me out of saying that I'd get bored of it after time but in my heart I know that I never will. The Robertson Book Store is my second home, I love coming in on the weekends to the smell of coffee and a whole new pile of books just waiting to be unloaded. Grandpa has always said that I have every making to be a great bookkeeper one day if I could only learn how to talk to people.

Anyway I've spent every weekend up here since I was about eight helping out my grandparents, running little errands and doing jobs that were now too straining on their tired bodies. For example stringing up these dreadful Christmas lights. I clipped a few more lights into place and gave a small groan of pain as I pinched one of my fingers.

"Mary dear are you done yet" my grandmother said as she came outside to observe my work "oh they look wonderful dear." She rested her bony hand on my shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.

"There's still a lot of them to put" I commented, glaring at the chaotic clump of lights dangling from my hand.

"Well why don't you do some work inside for a little while, it's freezing out here and your mother would have a conniption if you caught a cold this close to Christmas" my grandmother teased "just throw the lights back into a box and you can put them back upstairs in the attic." Grandma's hand slide off my shoulder and she sauntered back into the shop.

I sighed and starting pitching the lights back into the box, not very gently I might add. When they were all finally packed away, I grabbed the boxes and made my way back into the shop struggling to maneuver around shopping customers.

When I reached the back a pulled of my thick winter along with my hat and mittens. Laying them down on the window seat, where I liked to sit and read when the business was slow. I smoothed out my jeans and adjusted my sweater, my favourite sweater that Vicki had dropped off to me a week ago just before heading to her Aunt and Uncles. I pulled my long brown hair out of a tight ponytail and let it fall over my shoulders. Giving myself a quick look in the mirror, I brushed my bangs out of my dark green eyes.

Gathering the boxes again I began to hauling them upstairs to my grandparents apartment, situated above the store. My grandpa had grown up in this tiny space and had then raised my mom and my uncle Steven here with my grandma.

Dragging the boxes through the long stretch of hallway, I finally reached my mom's old room or as it was now called the guest bedroom. The door that lead attic was located in the closet of this room and my mom said that when she was little she liked to sneak up there I in the night time and scare my Uncle Steven by running around on the floor and making loud noises.

The attic was extremely dusty and the floorboards groaned under my feet with every step I took. Being in the attic always made me nervous ever since I was little I had hated coming up here. The air was always so cold even in the summer time and I gave a small shudder. There was also barely any light, only a dim light bulb that swung dangerously from the ceiling. . I dropped the boxes in the corner coughing loudly when a cloud of dust formed , I stumbled blindly towards the attic door the dark particles catching on my eyelashes and blurring my vision.

I continued to cough violently as I ripped open the door, slamming it behind me and climbing down the ladder back into the bedroom. I rubbed eyes hoping that it would decrease the burning feeling that I was currently suffering from but to no such luck it only made the fiery pain intensify. I sighed and leaned against the closet door knitting my eyebrows together at the strange warmth I felt on my face. My grandparents house was always cold in the winter from people coming in and out but I could almost feel the spring sun beating down on my cold cheeks.

The warmth was relaxing and I inhaled getting a smell of fresh blooming flowers and clean spring air.'_How strange'_ I thought to myself when I had gone up to the attic it had been chilly and the air smelled of coffee and books and yet now it felt like a spring day.

I slowly blinked my eyes opening, rubbing them a few times to try and rid my vision of the blurry edges. Everything was still a bit blurry but finally I could start make out shapes instead of it all just being one big colour blur. As everything finally came into clarity my eyes widen at what I saw before me, not the comfort of the guest bedroom but a forest stood before me. Trees standing tall and proud, stretching for what seemed like miles.

I reached my hand up to my head, running my fingers along my forehead searching for a bump. '_I must have hit my head on something, this isn't real it can't be'_ I thought to myself, my thoughts were in a world-wind spinning around my head like a vicious tornado.

"Where in the world am I?" I quietly asked myself. I slid down the tree and the bark scraped against my back through my thin jacket. When I was sitting, I let my eyes slide across the landscape of the forest. Finding no possible sign as to how I had ended up in the forest instead of the guest bedroom, I sighed in exasperation.

The longer I sat there with nothing happening the more anxious and confused I became and the harder I began to bite on my lip. An unfortunate nervous tic that had only gotten worse and more painful as I got older.

Shaking my head I steadily pushed myself up onto my feet beginning to cautiously wander forward. I was tired of sitting around trying to think of a logical reason as to why I was here, so I would do what all the characters in the books I've read do, explore.

**Side Note: Thanks to Sammye lol xox for all her help with editing and ideas **


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry that this chapter is so short the next few are going to be quite a bit longer. Anyway enjoy!**

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I shuffled along silently, my eyes wandering around for something that might prove to be of some interest or that might take me back home. Mind you I was really starting to enjoy the forest. It was calm and serene and walking by some of the large willow trees I yearned to curl up underneath them with a new book and a blanket.

The thought of new books brought up the thought of my grandparents. I grimaced, trying to think of what I could tell them when I got back because sensibly, they would never believe my story. Heck, I wasn't even sure I did.

I shook my head, abolishing those thoughts. I would worry about consequences later for now I would just wander and see where it takes me.

Hours later, the sunset was turning the clouds golden and casting the forest into a beautiful silhouette I had been "exploring" the great wood for a few hours now and had come to realize that it which was essentially a big hoop. No matter which way I seemed to go I always turned up at the same point, the lamppost.

Now as I stood once more in front of the flickering lamppost I realized that I was excruciatingly hungry. Pangs and grumbles ripped through my stomach like lightning bolts. I bite my lip and cringed as I tasted a bitter metallic taste in my mouth. "Dang it" I said, reaching my hand up to my tingling lip. I had an unfortunate habit of biting my lip especially when I was nervous.

"Oh!" I scoffed while kicking out at the iron pole of the lamppost in frustration. "This is just perfect!" I threw my hands up in exasperation and decided to just give up for the day. With a sigh that was probably too melodramatic, I flopped down onto the ground beside the lamppost, my back on the grass the cool grass soothing my sunburned skin.

The golden and dewy light coming from the lamppost grazed across my face reminding me of how my mother would brush her hand across my face, wiping my tears away when I had a bad day. I made another sigh although this one was of calmness not frustration. Somehow thinking of my mother and her washing away my worries had ridden me of my resentment towards this new food-less world.

Starting to feel my eyes drift closed, I prayed that I would find a way out of here tomorrow or something that would take back to the warmth and comfort of home.


	4. Chapter 4

I felt my muscles tense slightly as another icy droplet fell onto my already freezing body. I had begun to regain consciousness a few seconds ago, waking up to a violent chill that ran straight up my spine. It was then that I realized it was pouring rain and that I was soaked to the bone.

The heavens were as black as midnight pouring down torrents of rain. Who would've thought that a place that was so peaceful and serene yesterday could be this vicious?

My muscles quivered from the cold and I knew better then to just sit out in the rain letting myself catch a cold. However I laid transfixed on the cold ground, to weak to move and seek refuge. So I just laid there, knees curled up to my chest and shaking.

Diamond raindrops trickled down my face into my eyes, blurring my vision."Why" I breathed weakly. "Why am I here" I didn't expect an answer so I let my heavily eyelids flutter shut and attempted to will myself home. Which is why I was shocked when a reply came shattering through the stormy air. "Well why are you here?" I took a raspy breath, wondering who the mysterious voice was.

I forced my eyes open, my eyes attempting to scour the bushes for someone but there was nothing around me. I laid still on the ground wondering if it was just a hallucination, after all I hadn't eaten anything for almost a day now. So I waited, waited for the voice to come again but it never did.

Concluding that it was simply a figment of my imagination I moaned. No one was going to find me, no one even knew where I was.

"Deary are you alright?" a soft female voice asked . Using the little bit a strength I had left I stirred, slowly looking up in the direction of the voice. I could now see dark silhouettes cautiously advancing towards me.

I had been found, someone had found me! I felt joy pulse through my veins but it was short lived as another shivered ripped through me. "Oh Beaver look at the poor thing, she's sick" the same voice murmured. _'Beaver? I've never heard of any named Beaver before, perhaps it's a nickname'_ I pondered.

"Edmund do you think you would be able to carry the girl back to the dam, she'll die if she spends too much longer out here." The voice was urgent now and I could see one of the figures motioning to who I assumed to be Edmund, making gestures at my limp body.

I watched the silhouettes, waiting to see what they would do. Would they help me or would they just leave my here, lying face down in the muddy grass.

After a moment one of the figures again began to make their tentatively way towards me. When they had finally reached my weakened form the larger of the three bent down and gathered me in their arms. Oddly enough I felt safe in this persons arms and I could feel my muscles relaxing into their strong grip. Something about being in this person's arms felt right, almost as if I belonged there.

I slowly blinked my eyes trying to see who was carrying me but blackness was filling my vision. Spilling in through the corners on my tired eyes it spread like a wild fire and soon it consumed me. My senses seem to shut off and I soon drifted away.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay so this chapter is dedicated to Sammye lol xox because there is no way this chapter would have gotten finished without you.**

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Chapter 5:

The back of my eyelids flickered red and I could feel I strange sense of heat dancing along my cheeks. I stirred, feeling the soft scrape of material across my bare arms. _'Wait bare arms?' _I lifted my arms up and gave a shriek of fright as I realized that I was no longer wearing my sweater but a long flowing nightgown.

I bolted up, throwing back a heavy blanket.

"What in the world?" I squeaked pulling on the silvery nightgown. Running my fingers down the silky material I examined the gown, trying to figure out how I was dressed in it and not my worn jeans and sweater.

Finally dropping the material I realized that I was no longer out in the pouring rain. I was now inside sitting next to a crackling fire, that shot tiny embers almost like fireworks out. I slid myself cautiously towards the fire still feeling a slight chill on my skin. Quietly I sat by the fire watching in silence as the heat danced across my face.

It seemed as if hours had gone by before the silence was broken with a loud crash, shaking me from my tired trance.

A hushed voice soon followed "oh Beaver my _favourite_ china."

_'Beaver, that was one of the names of the people who helped me in the forest_' I thought.

"Sorry dear it was an accident" a sheepish voice replied much louder.

"Shh you'll wake the daughter of eve" the first voice chided.

As I continued to listen to the voices I soon discovered that they had British accents. '_To bad Vicki isn't here shes a sucker for British accents'_ I giggled quietly to myself.

Pushing myself up, I began to edge towards the door, closer to where the voices were. The wooden door was already cracked but I gave it a small nudge, opening it further. It creaked as it slid open another few inches. I bite down on my lip hoping that neither one of the voices had heard the door moan.

Waiting a moment before moving, I finally leaned forward peering into the brightly lit room. My eyes scanned the room but I couldn't seem to see anyone, I could hear them loud and clear but they were no where in site.

I pursed my lips in annoyance, '_does everything here have to be so difficult' _ I asked myself silently.

Giving a small huff of disappointment I leaned back and sat down. My back grazing against the makeshift bed that I had woken up on.

I sat quietly chewing on my bottom lip, pondering my very limited options. I could either escape and take my chances with the outside world, _'yeah cause that worked so well last time' _my conscious argued. Or I could stay inside and take my chances with who ever lived here.

However I didn't get time to decide because seconds later the wooden door pulled open and small beaver strolled in, carrying a tray in its arms. My jaw dropped in surprise, I had lived in the city my entire life but I had never seen or heard of a beaver walking on their hind legs like a human and carry trays with food on them.

"Oh... your up" the beaver acknowledged in a motherly tone.

I gave another small shriek, clamping my hand over my mouth to keep me from screaming '_ I have defiantly hit my head' _I reasoned. The beaver didn't seem to notice my squeal and she continued to jabber away.

"We were starting to get worried dear, you have been asleep for almost two days now" she explained, setting the tray down on a table and sorting through the food.

"Alright then" she turned around and placed her hands on her hips giving me a small frown.

"Now what are you doing?" she questioned.

"Come over here and eat, you haven't eaten anything for a while now and you need to get some food in your system" she commanded.

"I... uh..I...um" I stuttered, my mouth still hanging open wonder. '_Oh gosh, I'm delusional.'_

"Well don't just sit there with your mouth hanging wide open, come sit" she said, patting a small chair.

Slowly stood up and with much resistance dragged myself over to the chair.

"Now it is not much, Beaver has been sneaking second helpings again but hopefully it will suffice for now" she said.

Gingerly I reached for a small piece of bread and began to pick away at the food. Finishing the last bread roll on the tray, I peeked over at the beaver who was now smoothing out the blankets.

I watched incredulously as she hummed a song to herself as she worked. '_What in the world __had I stumbled into? A forest that went in an endless loop and a talking beaver.'_

"Excuse me?" I asked quietly. The small beaver turned to face me, still folding one of the blankets.

"Finished eating dear" she stated , eyeing the empty tray.

"Um.. yes, thanks you for the food Mrs..." I said, trailing off at the end.

"Beaver dear, Mrs Beaver" she replied.

Mrs Beaver set down the blanket and strolled over to where I was seated. "Feeling better now?" she asked gently placing her paw on my arm in a comforting manner.

"Yes, thank you" I replied.

"Wonderful, Beaver has gone out for a minute but he should be along soon and then we can all sit down and you can tell us about yourself" she explained returning to the linen.

I grimaced slightly when Mrs Beaver turned away from me. '_Wonderful' _I thought '_I'm going to tell perfect strangers all about myself'_. This is just great.

It didn't take Mr Beaver long to get home, at least to me it didn't seem long. Time seemed distorted here, I brushed it off as shock but I had a nagging gut feeling that it was something else.

The three of us, being Mr and Mrs Beaver and myself now sat in what I believe to be their kitchen. It was a small but quaint little room, giving off a comforting glow.

Mr and Mrs Beaver sat across from me, staring intently at me as if they were waiting for me to say something.

After a few moments Mr Beaver cleared his throat, "now where did you say you were from?" he inquired.

"I'm from a small city just outside of Edmonton" I answered quietly.

Mr and Mrs Beaver looked at each with questioning looks in their eyes. The whispered quietly to each other for a moment before turning back, still wearing their confused expressions.

"Where is Edmonton, dear?" Mrs Beaver asked. My face drop 'they don't know where Edmonton is? How can they not know where it is, we're only two hours away and it's the capital city!' I fumed to myself.

"It's about a two hour drive away" I answered

Again the Beavers looked at me confused.

"You know, the _capital_ city" I emphasized.

I was starting to get worried with all of these questioning looks, if things kept up like this it could take me weeks to get home.

"I have never heard of Edmonton and the capital city is not Edmonton dear, it is Cair Paravel" Mrs Beaver corrected.

"Cair Paravel!" I shrieked "No, no, no, no, it's Edmonton. I've lived in Alberta for my entire life and there is no Cair Paravel in Alberta" I ranted.

_'Cair Paravel! There is no such place' _

The Beaver's faces softened, Mrs Beaver reached forward placing her paw gently on the back of my hand.

"Mary this is not Alberta" she began softly, "this is Narnia."

"Narnia?" my voice cracked.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

I had been living with the Beavers for about two weeks now, the days ticking by slowly. Mrs Beaver spent most of her time _trying_ to teach me about Narnia although my mind often wandered back to my family or exploring more of Narnia. I could tell Mrs Beaver was disappointed in my daydreaming but it was in my nature. After about a week and a half Mrs Beaver relented and finally agreed to let me read books on Narnia instead of her daily lessons.

I sighed, content with the heat that burned on my pale skin. My hair hung in a loose ponytail and trickling water down my back from the swim I had taken early in the river. The book Mrs Beaver had given me, _The Age of Winter _sat on my lap as the authors words dance through my head.

Lucy, another _daughter of eve_ was suppose to becoming sometime this week for a visit so Mrs Beaver was very busy trying to make the dam presentable. Mr Beaver had recommended that this would be a good week to get out and do some exploring while Mrs Beaver was distracted. So I was making the most of my days, swimming in the river, wandering the forest and of course reading. Mind you reading was very hard to do in the forest with the dryads, they were always so noisy.

"Mary can you come inside I need your help for a moment" Mrs Beaver drifted through the warm air.

"Okay I'll be there in a minute" I yelled back, throwing my books into the leather bag Mr Beaver had given me for my things.

Today I sat in the backroom, my feet dangling off my bed gently scraping at the warm floor of the dam. Mrs Beaver's tidying had finally ceased and Mr Beaver had said with a laugh that "it was finally safe to spend our days at the dam again."

I could hear Mr and Mrs Beaver's quiet voices, although they were muffled through the partly closed door. Straining my ears to hear the Beavers, I finally heard the dam door open and a and soon another voice joined in, this one evidently younger and excited.

Abandoning my bed I proceeded into the front room and a girl, about my age stood in the doorway. She had a kind smile that seemed to lite up her face, giving her eyes a playful twinkle.

"Mary this is Her High-" Mrs Beaver began

"Lucy!" the girl exclaimed. "Lucy, I'm Lucy Pevensie, just Lucy Pevensie" she stated more calmly this time.

"You must be Mary, " she giggled. "I am so happy to finally meet you, Edmund said you were sick" she said her voice suddenly laced with concern.

I unknowingly tilted my head to the side, _'Edmund? Who's Edmund and why did he think I was sick?_' I wondered.

"I'm fine, actually perfectly fine" I replied. "And not to be rude but who's Edmund?" I asked, voicing my questions.

Lucy gave a small laugh "Edmund's my older brother.

"_Why does Lucy's older brother think I'm sick, I've never even met him'_ I pondered. Wanting to ask more questions I opened my mouth but shut it again once I saw Lucy and Mrs Beaver talking. '_I suppose that conversation is over' _I thought to myself.

Lucy giggled as the whispering wind blew through her hair, ruffling it. She picked up the skirts of her deep blue dress and danced back to where I was sitting. She laid back on grass beside me, staring up the cloudless summer sky I gave her a small smile and fell back into my thoughts.

Three months, three months had past since that fateful spring day where I had stumbled upon Narnia. In those months Lucy and I had grown to be great friends and she often reminded me of Vicki. Lucy, I found out came to visit the Beavers quite often. Generally Lucy stayed a few nights before returning to Cair Paravel, so the two of us would share the small bed in the backroom. Most nights we were up into the early hours of the morning, talking and trying to stifle our laughter.

The night I remember the most is the night Lucy told me of her first adventures in Narnia. She told me the story of how her and her older siblings had helped Aslan defeated a woman called the White Witch. Who I had read about in _The Age of Winter_, she had been a self-titled Queen who had cruelly ruled Narnia in a 100-hundred year winter.

I listened quietly as Lucy had told her tale but I could tell by the way she spoke that there were things she wasn't telling me. Although I didn't pester her about details, I figured she'd tell me the rest one day.

Even though I promised myself I wouldn't push Lucy to give me answers, questions still swam in my head. Lucy never wanted to talk about Cair Paravel. She talked about her older siblings, Peter, Susan and Edmund all the time but other then that she said nothing about Cair. In fact whenever I even asked about Cair Paravel Lucy hastily changed the subject. Which made me wonder _'what could Lucy possibly be hiding, what is it that she doesn't trust me with?'_

"Mary, Mary" a voice sang quietly in my ear. "MARY!"

I jumped in shock as the quiet voice suddenly became a yell. Clutching my heart I gave a small glare in Lucy's direction.

"What was that for?" I questioned.

"You were daydreaming again she laughed. "Now come on Mrs Beaver will have supper ready soon and it is getting dark" she commented tugging on the sleeve of my thin dress.

I smiled at the younger girl as she danced ahead of me, the red setting sun gleaming on her skin.

"Lucy" I yelled across the field at her.

Lucy stopped spinning but her dark dress continued without her, swaying in warm wind.

"Yes" she called back.

"Race you home" I screamed, running past her.

We ran all the way back to Beaver's dam, our laughter mixing in with the giggles of the dryads as we raced past them.

I stopped just a few feet from Beaver's dam, taking tired, shallow breaths. Lucy arrived seconds later crashing into me which sent both of us rolling on the ground. Mrs Beaver came out at the sound of all the commotion.

"Girls what are you doing?" she questioned, her paws on her hips.

"Just playing" Lucy answered brushing herself off and then offering me a hand.

"Well come inside and get cleaned, dinner will be ready soon" she said. Mrs Beaver strolled back inside while Lucy and I composed ourselves.

"You know, I think life at Cair Paravel is going to get much more interesting when you come to stay with us in the fall" Lucy stated.

"What?" I asked confused. _'Come and live with them in the fall?' _

"Mr and Mrs Beaver come and live at Cair Paravel during the fall and winter and then they move back here and live here for the spring and summer" she explained.

"Mr and Mrs Beaver never said anything about that" I told her.

"Oh, well now you know" she shrugged.

I gave a playful eye-roll and then looped my arm with hers, pulling her inside.

"Come on I'm starving"


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: YAY so longest chapter yet! **

**Anyway please review and let me know what you think. Thanks!**

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Chapter 7:

I pulled my cloak closer to me as the cool wind nipped at face. The fall weather was beginning to take the place of the summer, mind you it had not been nearly as humid as Alberta. _'Home'_ I thought. I was no longer sure what home was anymore. I had been in Narnia for six months, '_H__alf a year'_ I inwardly sighed to myself and there seemed to be little hope of getting out of here anytime soon. I didn't think about home much, Mrs Beaver and Lucy usually kept me to busy to stop and think about _anything_. But when I got a moment alone I often thought of my family, especially my parents.

I shook my head, as Mr Beaver said "_no use worrying yourself over things you can not change."_

It was surprisingly quiet as I walked along the forest path _'How odd'_ I thought. Lately the dryads had been very noisy, complaining about how their leaves were changing colour and such. Although the only sounds today were my boots scraping along the ground and my bag colliding with my side. Until a loud _'twang' _rang out followed shortly by a '_thwack.' _Confused and curious I headed towards the sound. Another _'twang' _and '_thwack' _sounded and I pushed myself faster towards the sound, my curiosity growing.

As I grew closer to the odd sounds I stopped suddenly, my bag lurching forward over my shoulder and onto the ground. My curiosity tried to push me forward but my instincts held me back. _'I'm rushing towards something that I know nothing of, what am I doing?'_ I scolded myself.

Angry with my stupidity, I dropped to the ground and roughly collected my bag. Another _twang_ sounded and I looked up, it sounded much closer this time. I waited for the second sound to come but it didn't the forest remained quiet. The wind hissed around me picking up the bright leaves, that seemed to waltz away in the wind.

Brushing the fall dust off of my leggings, that Mrs Beaver had so kindly made for me I stood up.

THWACK.

I jumped back, as an arrow hit the tree directly in-front of me. The arrow was impacted in the tree at eye level and so close to my face that I had to cross my eyes to focus on it. It quivered from the force of impact.

_'Run!'_ my mind screamed but someone I couldn't get my feet to work, they seemed frozen.

"Good shot Lucy" someone cried out.

_'Good shot! Good shot, that shot almost got me killed'_

"I told you with a bit of practice you would get better" the voice came again along with rustling of the bushes. I slightly turned my head until I saw the figure of a tall girl. A beautiful girl with dark hair that flowed down her back appeared and when she finally caught sight of me she froze. Her eyes slid over to the arrow impacted in the tree and then back to me. Her expression changed in realization, her eyes widen and her hand covered her mouth alarm.

"Susan? Susan where did you go" a familiar voice called.

The bushes behind the frozen girl, _'Susan' _the bushes rustled again and another girl appeared, a bright smiling Lucy.

"Mary!" she exclaimed happily until her eyes drifted to the arrow. She gasped and her face change to an expression very similar to _Susan's_.

"Oh no I didn't hit you did I?" Lucy questioned, distress seeping through her voice. She swung her bow over her shoulder and dashed over to where I stood, frozen in place.

"Are you okay?" she asked, grasping my upper arm and pulling me away from the tree. Susan followed cautiously behind Lucy, her eyes closely examining me. I let Lucy pull me over to a rock, where she forced me to sit. She fumbled at her belt of her dress until she produced a deep red bottle, her cordial.

"No" I choked out.

"But..." she started

"No I'm fine" I said hoarsely.

"Put it away, I don't need it" I said reassuringly.

Lucy slowly slid the cordial back to its pouch and then something I didn't expect happened.

"Are you sure?" the dark haired girl asked gently.

A regal aura radiated off of her and she looked like what Vicki would call a _'Russian model.'_

"Um.. yes, I'm sure thank you, the arrow never actually hit me" I muttered.

"Ah, I see" she responded simply.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything but who are you" I asked.

She smiled at me and held out her hand. "Susan, Susan Pevensie, High.."

Lucy cleared her throat loudly and gave Susan a peculiar look as if to say _''be quiet!'_. Susan, taken back raised her thin eyebrows at Lucy.

"High?" I asked promoting her to finish her sentence.

"High, um.. sister" she stated nervously, looking back at Lucy for reassurance. Lucy raised a delicate hand to her forehead and gave a light smack before shaking her head in disappointment.

I turned my attention back to Susan who had crossed her arms.

"High Sister?" I asked her confused.

"Yes High Sister to Lucy"she stated confidently.

"I don't understand, what's a high sister" I questioned.

"It's how we say older sister" Lucy said jumping into the conversation.

"It's a Narnia thing" Lucy joked.

"Okay then" I replied hesitantly.

"Mary how many baskets have you got collected" Susan called out through the tall forest trees. Sheepishly, I looked down at my close to empty basket of fresh berries and sighed.

"I almost have one filled" I called back trying to make it sound like a positive. Crossing my fingers I prayed that Susan wouldn't come marching over and give me a disappointed _'I know you have been daydreaming instead of working' _look. She had been giving me that look quite a bit lately. Susan was one of those all work and no play types, at least most of the time.

But of course to no such luck, Susan came marching threw the trees with her hands on her hips.

"Your basket is not even half full is it" she said, her voice filled with accusation.

I gave her a guilty smile but she just shook her head and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Come on Mary, we need to get these berries collected so that Lucy and I can take them back to Cair Paravel with us tomorrow" she sighed.

"I know... I'm sorry but there aren't many berries left with the cool weather" I remarked.

"I know, just keep looking" she called walking back to where Lucy was.

I brushed my now long hair out of my eyes, when I had first arrived in Narnia it had been just past my shoulders and now it hung about halfway down my back. Mrs Beaver wouldn't allow me to cut my hair remarking that_ "Women always had long hair and rarely cut it short." _

Giving a huff of annoyance I walked deeper into the forest. It grew slightly darker the farther I walked, only small patches of light dipping in through the trees. I searched the bushes trying to find any surviving berries but to misfortune, I could find none.

Caught up in my thoughts I didn't see where I was going and I soon found myself falling face first into the ground, my foot caught in fallen branch. The rough dirt scrapped my knees through my dress and I groaned as I stood up, feeling the small rocks scrap along my arms.

"Milady, are you are alright?" a deep voice asked.

Whirling around I saw a dark haired boy standing only a few metres away, although I couldn't make out many of his features due to him standing in the long shadow of a tree. I dropped my hand to the belt of my dress and instinctively wrapped my fingers around the dagger Lucy had given me.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"Edmund" his deep voice rumbled. He stepped out of the shadows, letting the spliced light hit his face.

"And you are Milady" Edmund asked, a smile gracing his lips.

I took a sharp intake of breath at his perfect smile, mentally slapping myself afterwards. _'What are you doing! It's just a boy, a boy you don't know and could be dangerous' _I scolded.

"Milady" Edmund said, snapping me out of my thoughts.

He took a few more steps slowly towards me and I nervously backed away, dropping the basket of berries as I stumbled into a tree.

I narrowed my eyes at him, the berries toppled out of the fallen basket. He took another few steps towards me and reached down, his dark hair falling over his pale face.

As he bent down I jumped away from him, ripping my dagger from its pouch and holding it to his throat.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

He stood up, my basket of berries dangling from his fingers.

"I am not going to hurt you, I promise" he chuckled.

'_He's laughing at me! I have a dagger to his throat and he's laughing at me like I'm some small, innocent child!'_ I growled to myself.

Glaring at him, I plucked the basket from his hand and he raised an eyebrow at me.

"Thank you" I said indifferently.

Slowly I backed away from him, dropping my dagger a few centimetres with every step. I turned around, my muscles aching to run away but Edmund's voice stopped me.

"You know we have met before" he said.

"No we haven't, I've never seen you before in my life" I replied coolly, turning around to face him.

"Well I suppose you wouldn't seeing as you were unconscious" he remarked.

"Unconscious?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes unconscious" he replied calmly.

My mouth fell open from shock and I searched his eyes trying to see if I could find a hint of dishonesty. Although the longer I stared into his eyes the more I became consumed by his dark brown gaze. I broke my eyes way from him and pursed my lips _'He's just a boy, he's just a boy_' I chanted over and over in my head.

"You don't even know my name, so you can't say we've met before" I snapped.

"Actually, I do know your name" he responded.

"No you don't, you asked me what what my name was less then five minutes ago" I hissed.

"Yes, out of curtsey and I could tell you were nervous of me, you are still nervous of me" he smiled. "_Mary_" he added, pronouncing my name slowly for emphasis.

"For your information you do not scare me and even if you did I wouldn't be smiling about it" I said with a growl.

"I did not say scared I said nervous, although you did put a dagger to my throat" he said diplomatically.

"Whatever" I responded at a loss of words.

His mouth curved up into a smile again, '_Damnit I've let him win!' _I inwardly groaned.

"Come on, my sisters are probably looking for you" he said, walking up to me. "They probably think your off in Wonderland somewhere."

"Hey, just who do you think you are?" I cried placing my hands on my hips.

"As I said before I'm Edmu-" he started

"Wait, who are your sisters?" I asked cutting him off.

He sighed "Lucy and Susan, the ones you have been picking fruit with all afternoon."

I narrowed my eyes at him and took a few steps cautious steps towards him, he had been right I was nervous in his presence. Mind you it was an odd nervous, it felt like he could see right through me as if he knew my every thought. '_Creepy_' I shuddered.

I stood now only a few centimetres away from him, carefully examining his facial features.

"You have the same nose" I concluded, timidly tapping my index finger on the end of his nose. I slowly slid my finger down, withdrawing my hand but he reached out a gently grabbed my wrist. Lifting his hand he gently brushed his knuckles along my cheekbone.

"Do we have any other similar features?" he asked, still running his fingers along my cheek.

My eyes flickered down to his lips and then back up to his nose. Taking a thick gulp, I slid my foot along the forest ground and took a step back.

"N-n-n-o" I stuttered.

"No?" he asked amused.

His eyes locked on my mine and I felt helpless in his intense gaze. The butterflies seemed to be turning into bees, buzzing around excitedly in my stomach.

"Yes" I answered, my voice shaking nervously.

"Yes you mean no or yes you mean yes" he asked, sounding slightly confused.

"Yes I mean yes.. er no, yes I mean no" I said exasperated.

Agitated I bite down on my lip, my teeth lightly puncturing the soft skin.

He laughed out loud, a perfect deep chuckle that resonated in his chest. Butterflies fluttered around in my stomach and I could feel my cheeks growing red.

"You are a confusing girl" he joked.

Still biting down on my I rolled my eyes at him.

"Mary there you are!" Susan cried from behind me.

Startled, Edmund and I jumped apart, the basket smacking into my leg causing more berries to fall out. Susan watched more berries tumbled out and she dropped her head into her hand.

Oh Mary, what are we going to... EDMUND!" Susan cried, her gaze finally sweeping over him. "Edmund, what are YOU doing here? Did you follow Lucy and I the whole way?"

"Peter was worried about you two going off alone so he sent me to chaperone," stated Edmund.

Susan taken back placed her hands on her hips "Excuse me Edmund" she sneered.

"but I am older then you and I don't need the watchful eye of my _little_ brother all the time" she emphasized.

Susan glared at Edmund, while he slowly rocked on the back of his heels.

"Susan, have you found Mary" Lucy's voice broke through the tense air surrounding the three of us.

"Yes and I found someone else too." Susan called, fake enthusiasm dripping from her voice.

Lucy's figure came flouncing into the clearing, her hair twirling in the wind and her cheeks flushed red with excitement. Well that was until she saw Edmund. Her jaw dropped open and then closed, her lips pulling into a tight scowl.

"Did Peter send you to spy on us again?" she asked.

"Yes he did" Susan said with a small snap.

Lucy shook her head at her brother. "Why doesn't Peter believe that I can take care of myself?" Lucy remarked.

"Because you are still a child, Lu" Edmund answered.

"A child! I will be fifteen in a few months, which is only two years younger then you and if I remember correctly you were leading war campaigns at my age" she argued.

"Ed, Lu can we not argue about this now" Susan sighed, eyeing me.

"Fine, but when we get home this conversation will be resumed along with _Peter_" Lucy snapped, a foreign fire alight within her eyes.

"Of course" Edmund approved, a cocky smirk forming on his face.

Silence seemed to fall over us the siblings then and I shifted awkwardly attempting to shuffle away. My foot slid over a twig and a large crack sounded, echoing through the forest. Scared, a large flock of birds began to squawk with fright and fly away.

"Anyway.." I started slowly, the Pevensie's dark gazes drifting over to me. "I should probably get back to Beaver's Dam" I noted, backing away from the group.

Lucy's eyes changed suddenly, her harden eyes softening and turning back into a sea of blue.

"Are you sure you can not stay a bit longer" Lucy asked.

"Mrs Beaver will have dinner ready soon and you know how she hates it when I'm late" I reminded. "I'm sorry" I added, handing her the now empty basket.

"But I'll see you soon" I called running off in the direction of Beaver's Dam.

_'Only a few more weeks'_ I thought with a smile. _'Then I will be living in Cair Paravel!'_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry about the long wait for this chapter I have been pretty busy with school and work. Anyway please review and tell me what you think**

**Thanks :)**

* * *

Chapter 8:

I laughed out loud as Callia and I raced along the dirt path. The November wind whistled and sang in my ears, blowing my hair back into a mess of knots and tangles. The air surrounding Callia and I was cold and smelled of pine trees, one of my favourite smells because it reminded me of Christmas. I sighed, Christmas in my world had only been a few days off before I turned up in Narnia.

Pulling on Callia's reins we slowed down, stopping next to the lamppost where I had been found more then half a year ago by of course none other then my egotistical best friend, Edmund.

"Come on Ed, hurry up" I yelled over my shoulder. Edmund emerged seconds later, upon a cantering and evidently tired Phillip.

"I told you I was the fastest horse in Narnia," Callia boosted to Phillip.

"I let you win," Phillip snorted.

"Oh come Phillip,don't be a bad sport," I sighed, gently patting his neck as he and Edmund pulled up next to us.

Phillip snorted in annoyance. "A bad sport," he huffed. "She was the one boasting about being the fastest horse, I simply stated the fact that I let her win!She isn't the fastest horse in Narnia but she is certainly the most arrogant!"

"You know Phillip if I do remember correctly, you thought of yourself as quite the hot shot," Edmund laughed.

"Well, wouldn't you have?" Phillip asked.

"I was being ridden by one of the future Kings of Narnia," he stated. "It would make anyone's pride swell."

"You fought with one of the Kings!" I asked excitedly to Edmund. "Which one? None of the books that I've read tell me there names." I then jumped off of Callia and walked over to Phillip. "Oh Phillip, are they nice?" I asked him eagerly.

"Uh..." Phillip moaned. "I..um.. well, they are nice.." he said slowly. "Well, most of the time" he added, giving Edmund a look.

Edmund raised an eyebrow at him and they seemed to silently exchange a quick conversation.

_'Strange'_ I thought. _'It seems as if... no, that's not possible, Edmund a King..no, that would have made Susan and Lucy the Queens but wouldn't they have told me if they were royalty.' _I pondered.

"Do you have everything packed for tomorrow?" Edmund asked me suddenly.

Tomorrow, Edmund and I would be starting the four day ride to Cair Paravel. Mr and Mrs Beaver had already headed down, opting to swim most of the way and then walk the remainder. Cair Paravel would be my new home for the next few months while the bitter winter ran its course. Lucy was of course ecstatic that I would be spending the winter at Cair Paravel and she was already trying to persuade me to stay for the whole year, making Cair my new permanent home.

"Yes" I smiled. "Lucy has _reminded_ me in everyone of her letters" I laughed then, the sound resonating through the woods around us.

"Yes, both of my sisters seem quite excited to have you come and stay with us at Cair," Edmund said.

"Hmm... yes it seems as though they are" I commented, my thoughts wandering off to what the Pevensies referred to as my '_Wonderland.'_

"Mary," I heard Edmund chuckle distantly.

Lifting my eyes from the ground I looked over at Edmund, his eyes were calm and patient as he watched me. _'He's so different'_ I thought. The first day that we had met, Edmund's presence had been consuming. His eyes had been filled with longing and a thirst for something that to this day remained a mystery to me. I sighed to myself, at first I had hoped it had been for me but that look of absolute want and desire had never resurfaced.

_'Ridiculous,' _I chided myself again. _'He barely even knew me, how could that look have been for me.'_

"Yes?" I answered him, coming out of my thoughts.

Edmund gave me a gentle smile, or in other words a '_I know that you have just been daydreaming'_ look.

"We should probably get back to Beaver's dam, it's getting late," Edmund commented.

Peeking up at the sky I gasped, the sun had already disappeared below the horizon and darkness had flooded the night sky. The moon casted a dim glow down on us and reflected against Edmund's pale skin.

'_By goodness, he looks like an angel,' _I thought. _'Oh for heavens sake, why are you torturing me so?' _I screamed in my head to no one in particular.

"We need our rest for the journey ahead," he advised.

"Hm.. alright let's head back" I answered not really paying much attention.

Greenery stretched out in front of us as Callia and Phillip's hooves hit the ground in perfect synchrony. My skin tingled from the contrast of the cool air and the warm sun. I shifted nervously in Callia's saddle as we drew closer to Cair Paravel. Looking over at Edmund he had a large grin on his face, obviously happy to be home. I broke my gaze and continued to twitch nervously as we rode closer.

"Don't be nervous," Edmund said, glancing over at me as I shifted again.

"I'm not nervous," I lied.

"Your not a very good liar, Mary," Edmund chided.

I rolled my eyes and gave a huff of frustration. I always seem to forget what Lucy's warnings "_You can't get anything past Edmund."_

_'Oh how true' _thought.

A trumpet blared in the distant and finally, a full Cair Paravel came into sight. It was more beautiful then anything I had seen before. It stood atop of hill that was surrounded by the the golden beach of the Eastern Sea. Red and gold flags flew proudly in the chilly autumn wind, all of them marked with a roaring lion. The sunlight shone off all the windows; glistening like fresh icicles on a bright, winter day. As we trotted up to the front gate, I felt a sense of warmth and familiarity, almost as if I belonged here. Perhaps Lucy was right, if this were to be home, I do not think I could bare to leave. Edmund and I rode through the main gate and into what seemed like the center of town. Here, I smelled freshly baked muffins and biscuits, hot apple and blueberry pies. My eyes scanned the crowd and I could feel myself getting dizzy from all the commotion. Finally resting my eyes on a faun I saw that he carried a basket full of chocolate chip muffins labeled "For his Just Majesty." Obviously, they were headed up to the royal kitchen. Fauns, centaurs and other talking creatures roamed around tending to their business. Although as a few of the creatures caught sight of Edmund they dropped into low bows or curtseys

_'How strange'_ I thought.

"Mary, what do you think?" Edmund asked his eyes glowing.

"It's magnificent," I said, my voice airy.

Edmund chuckled from behind me, "Yes, it is quite impressive isn't it."

"Yeah" I replied.

More trumpets soon joined the lone player becoming a chorus of perfect harmony.

The horses hooves clicked along the cobble stone paths as we trekked up the hill that the castle sat perched on. Finally arriving at the front gate, Edmund held out a hand, signalling Callia and I to stop as he and Phillip pulled ahead to speak with the guards. Edmund. I watched Edmund carefully as he spoke with the one of the guards, he had been acting very odd since this morning. He seemed to take a more regal presence, _'Perhaps he is a King' _I laughed to myself.

Moving my eyes over to the guards, I came to find that they were all staring at me with intent eyes.

"Callia, are you famous here cause it seems that the guards are staring at is?" I joked hoping she would give me an answer all the lines of "Yes, I've done something amazing and now I'm famous." But of course that didn't exactly work out the way I planned.

"Oh no, Mary, they are all staring at you," she said, her following laugh turning into a neigh.

"Why would they be staring at me?" I asked, truly confused.

"Well it is either two reasons," she stated.

"And those would be?" I prompted.

"One, you are a daughter of eve and we do not often see your kind here Narnia except of course when the courts of neighbouring countries come to visit" she explained.

"Okay and the second reason?" I said.

"The second reason being the most probable is that they are staring at you because you are not only human but you are with Edmund," she replied.

"With Edmund? What do you mean?" I questioned.

"Well Edmund rarely spends time around women except for his sisters of course" Callia acknowledged.

"I think in all of the years that I have been here he has courted perhaps two ladies" Callia said.

"What is courted?" I inquired.

"Courting..." Callia corrected.

"is what I suppose in your world you would call, dating" she explained.

"Oh" I replied quickly, as to Edmund and Phillip were riding back.

"Ready to go?" Edmund asked.

"Yep" I answered, signalling Callia to walk forward.

"Edmund! Mary!" Lucy exclaimed, waving at the two of us.

Edmund pushed Phillip faster and as he reached his siblings in one fluid motion he jumped off Phillip landing right in front of Lucy.

_'Show off'_ I scoffed.

Susan gave her brother a reprimanding look but it was soon lost after Lucy pulled her brother into a hug. Susan shook her head and laughed, her dark hair hung in perfect curls today and flounced around her shoulders as she laughed. As Callia and I approached she gave me a warm smile.

"Welcome to court Mary" a tall blonde boy said stepping forward.

_'This must be Peter, piercing blue eyes and golden hair like the sun. Yep defiantly Peter' _I thought.

"Thank you" I replied.

Kicking my feet out of one of the stirrups, I slid back and pushed myself up into a half standing position.

"Mary, here kick your leg over I will help you down" Edmund said, reaching his arms out towards my waist.

_'Always the gentlemen'_

"Don't worry, I'm fine" I replied kicking my leg over Callia and beginning to slid down off of Callia's back. Edmund dropped his arms and watched me with a nervous laughed, it was a deep and rumbling chuckle and I suppose it was directed at Edmund's expression.

"So Ed have you found yourself a Queen" Peter asked continuing to laugh.

_'Queen!'_

Surprised, I whirled around to face them but in the process let go out Callia's saddle. The air flew by my face much faster and much colder as I tumbled to the cold earth below. I closed my eyes tightly waiting for the impact of the solid ground but instead a felt a sharp pull on my ankle. Opening my eyes slowly I realized I was dangling upside down, my foot still caught in the stirrup.

Phillip roared with laughed and I could see Lucy, Susan and Peter all trying to hold in their laughter. Edmund sighed and walked oer to were I dangled.

"Mary, you really do need to be more careful" he advised.

I huffed as he easily lifted me up into his arms. He laughed at me as he saw my scowling expression.

"This is your own fault Mary" he chuckled, releasing my foot from the stirrup.

Catching my legs as the fell Edmund held me carefully in his arms.

_'Now don't go getting any ideas' _I reminded myself. _'He's just a friend.'_

"You going to put the poor girl down Ed?" Peter teased.

Edmund dropped his arm from under my knees and let my legs drop to the ground. Shuffling ungracefully away from Edmund, I brushed imaginary dust off of my tunic.

_'What now?'_ I asked myself. I rocked nervously on my heels praying that someone would say something and luckily my prayers were answered.

"Well, it is nice to finally meet you Mary" Peter said.

"I am High King Peter" he stated.

_'So they are the Narnian royals!'_

"Peter!" Lucy exclaimed.

"What is wrong Lu.. oh no" he said as if suddenly realizing he had done something he shouldn't have.

The four Pevensies or should I say the Kings and Queens of Narnia all watched me with wide and guilty expressions.

"Um... your majesties?" I said slowly, sliding down into a clumsy curtsy.

Susan watched with a bemused expression at my evident clumsiness .

"Oh Mary, you do not have to curtsy" Lucy said giggling. "We are friends."

Peter offered me his hand, gingerly I reached up and he grasped my wrist pulling me upright. Peters fingers were a lot like Edmund's. They calloused and rough from training but when Edmund touched me, his fingers were tender and gentle.

I could tell Peter was trying to be careful as he pulled me up but I felt like someone had just slid a piece of sandpaper up my arm.

I winced slightly and rubbed at my wrist after Peter had let go. Edmund came up behind me and lead me over to where Lucy and Susan stood.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine your majesty, why wouldn't I be?" I replied.

"Mary if I have said it once I have said it a million times, you are not a very good liar" Ed chuckled.

"I am a perfectly good liar my only problem is that you, your majesty can read me like an open book" I snapped back.

Edmund gave me a mocking smirk as we stopped in front Lucy and Susan.

"How about Lucy and I get you set up in your room Mary" Susan said.

"That would be wonderful your majesties" I said, carefully choosing my words.

Lucy's bright smile fell and she gave me a small frown.

_'Why is she upset? I thought you were suppose to call Royals 'your majesty' in public?'_

Biting my lip I looked away from Lucy's sad eyes and directed my eyes to Susan's. Susan gently laid her hand down on Lucy's upper arm and suddenly as if an electrical shock and flown through her body the frown was gone, replaced by her usual bright smile and rosy cheeks.

"Come on Mary" Lucy sang. "You are going to love the palace!"

My fingers slid across the cool stone of the walls and Lucy and Susan lead my farther and deeper into the palace. They castle was bigger then anything I had ever seen in my life and I was overjoyed to have an entire new place to explore and discover. Finally Lucy and Susan stopped and Lucy gave me a small smile before pushing the door open. I stumbled into the dark room, Lucy still grasping onto my wrist.

_'It is truly amazing that someone so tiny can have such a strong grip'_

A burst of light suddenly illuminated the room and I felt my breath leave me again. The walls were painted a beautiful forest green, with dark tiled floor that was covered with golden carpet. Light flooded in through a large window, that as I walked over to I realized over looked the Eastern Sea. A small chair had been set next to the window along with a wooden table that was already covered with books.

"Edmund picked those out for you" Lucy said, nodding her heads towards the books.

"Really?" I asked, carefully picking up one of the books.

"Yes, those are some of his favourites, he thought you would enjoy them" Lucy responded.

Susan gave a small laugh "Edmund loves reading almost as much as you do."

I gave Susan a smile and sat down in the chair, it was warm from having the sunlight draped across it all day. The warmth tingled along my skin that was still cool from autumn air outside.

Susan tittered around the room, smoothing out blankets and neatly placing things away on shelves. I watched the Gentle Queen, who seemed to remind me more and more of Mrs Beaver with each passing second.

Finally, Susan stopped and with a sigh said "I think I am going to go check on dinner."

Lucy, do you have a ribbon I can borrow?" Susan asked, pulling her hair up.

Lucy handed her a bright red ribbon and Susan quickly tied her ebony hair up into a perfect bun. Then with a small wave to Lucy and I, she glided out of the room.

"So how do you like you room Mary?" Lucy questioned, her happiness seeming to fill the room with cheer.

"Oh, I love it" I responded with a smile. "Your majesty" I added quickly.

"Mary, please do not call me you majesty" she sighed. "We are friends, I would prefer you just call me Lucy" she admitted.

"But isn't that very informal?" I asked bewildered.

"Perhaps" Lucy shrugged, "but as your friend I am asking you to call me Lucy."

I puckered my lips and mulled over what she was asking of me. Was it really right to be calling her Lucy? I had no title here, in this castle I was a nobody.

_'Not much different here then at school'_ I thought.

I sighed and looked away from Lucy, her eyes seemed sad and I felt as if I was drowning in a sea of blue.

"Lucy, why did you lie to me?" I inquired, "I don't understand, why didn't you just tell me who you were from the start?"

"For exactly the reason of what has just happened" she stated. "We have been friends for months now and even still, the second you found out I was Queen everything changed" Lucy exclaimed.

"I'm sorry Lucy" I said sheepishly. "I didn't mean for it to be like that" I admitted.

"It is alright" she said. "As long as we just go back to normal" she smiled.

"Sounds like a plan" I agreed.

"Good, now if you will excuse me I am going to go and find Mr Tumnus but Edmund will be by shortly to fetch you for dinner, so do not go _anywhere_" she emphasized, waggling her index finger in a playful motion.

"Yeah, yeah" I replied with a giggle and waving her off.

Lucy shook her head at me and then flounced out the door, her light orange dress swaying and twirling around her. With a sigh I leaned back into the fine material of the chair, trying to relax my tired muscles.

I smiled, Lucy's words rang in my head "_Edmund will be by shortly to fetch you for dinner so_ _do not go anywhere."_

I wrinkled my nose in displeasure, I so badly wanted to go and explore but with Edmund coming to get me it was probably best to stay here. I wasn't in the mood for one of Edmund's 'it's not safe to be wandering around by yourself' lectures.

_'Oh well I suppose I'll just have to wait for tomorrow.'_


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

The sun drifted through the drawn curtains of the window, casting a blood red shadow across the room. The colour dipped across my face and hair, bathing me in a cloak of warmth. I smiled in contentment as I let my tired eyes close and my head lull back onto the soft fleece of the chair I sat in. The book I had spent reading for the afternoon hung lazily in lap, my left hand played with the corner of the book. The sharp edge sliding across my fingers.

My stomach grumbled and I began to wonder when Edmund was coming.

_'Lucy said he was going to come and get me for dinner, shouldn't he have been by? Perhaps he forgot'_

With a groan I lifted myself out of the chair and stretched my aching muscles. I laughed, suddenly vividly remembering the afternoons spent hiding in the back of Grandpa's bookstore against the furnace, a new freshly printed book held tightly in my eager hands. Gently I set the darkly bound book down on the table and strolled over to the door.

Curling my fingers around the silvery door handle, I pulled it open and was met with a gust of wind that seemed to whisper and giggle in my ears. Tentatively I poked my head out the door. Lucy said not to leave my room and luck would have it that if I did, I would run into her and she would give me a lecture about how I never listen. Mind you I figure that as long as my feet don't cross the line of where my room connects to the hallway I was fine.

Leaning forward with my hands grasping tightly to the door frame I leaned out into the hallway. Empty.

It was completely empty and the hallway was engulfed in darkness, there didn't seem to be any light at all.

Pursing my lips in consideration I finally decided to go against Lucy's wishes. Dropping my hands from the door frame I dropped out into the hallway, my toes curled form the cold of the flooring and I gave a small shiver. A cold, pitch black hallway with no one around, I think I've seen enough scary movies to know were this was going.

Backing up back into my room, I grabbed a pair of scissors of the wooden desk in the corner and made my way back out into the hallway. Grasping them with both hands I held them out in front of me.

I pushed myself forward, my bare feet padding along the ground. As I walked farther down the hallway it grew darker and I was soon running my fingers along the wall blindly.

Suddenly I heard the click of shoe against the ground, instinctively my muscles tense and my grip on my scissors tighten. My breath was ragged and for the first time since being here I felt true fear grip me.

The clicking seemed to grow louder which meant it was coming towards me. I held the scissors out ready defend myself but I was caught off guard as I suddenly realized the clicking was coming from behind me.

_'How could I be so stupid!'_ I screamed at myself.

Whipping around, I collided with a warm body and I felt arms reach out to grab me as I reeled backwards. My back hit the wall with a dull thud and the scissors that I had held onto so _tightly_ were ripped out my hand and fell with a clatter into the sea of darkness. I pushed myself away from the wall preparing to run, for I had no other alternatives but rough hands grabbed me by the waist and forced me back against the wall. I opened my mouth to scream for help but a silky smooth voice floated through the air and as if being injected with morphine, my body suddenly relaxed into my attackers grip.

"Mary it's me, Edmund" his voice was urgent and sounded troubled. "Mary what is wrong?" he demanded.

My breath was ragged and I could feel myself trembling in Edmund's iron grip. Trying to calm down, I took slower breaths but they soon turned into hysterical gasps which only seemed to distress Edmund more.

"Sweetheart, please tell me what is wrong" he pleaded, releasing one of his hands from my waist to tenderly stroke my flushed red cheek.

"I just..." I started but trailed off, struggling with how to explain my fear to Edmund. Forcing a smile that felt much more like a grimace, I respond "nothing, it was nothing."

"Mary, your fear is certainly not nothing" he responded fiercely.

"Ed, just please don't worry about it" I said, pulling out of his grasp.

I paced away from him, trying to wedge some distance between us but Edmund was faster then me and was by my side in a second. He wrapped an arm around my waist and lead me down the hall. Turning a corner, I saw a glimmer of light sparkling; a lantern swinging dangerously on a low hook. Edmund strolled over and for the first time that evening I finally caught sight of the Just King.

Looking at him I wonder how I had never put the pieces together of him being a King earlier. He looked every bit the part, a deep red tunic that hung slightly over beige breeches and a dark brown leather belt that held a sheathed sword. His pale skin seemed to glow in the flickering light as he carefully lifted the lantern from its hook.

He glanced back at me, his unnerving expression turning into a amused smile. Pursing my lips and cocking an eyebrow I tried to figure out what he found so entertaining. I glanced down at my body and bit my lip, my brown riding tunic was ripped and hung loosely off of my left shoulder. I returned my eyes to Edmund and watched as his eyes continued to stare at my bare shoulder.

"Ed" I whispered softly.

His attention broke away from my shoulder to look at me and I felt a familiar buzz of butterflies in stomach.

"Yes" he answered.

"Can we go to dinner now, I'm hungry" I stated.

"You want to go to dinner dressed like that" he chuckled with a nod towards my clothing.

"Well.." I trailed off. I growled to myself, realizing that I would be forced to change for dinner for I was probably quite a sight. A ripped tunic hanging off of my shoulder, worn leggings, bare feet and I shuddered to think of what my hair looked like.

"Come on Mary, we will go back to your room and you can change before we head to dinner" Edmund said.

I nodded in agreement and followed him back to my room. The click of Edmund's shoes echoed off the marble walls and I silently laughed to myself, only minutes prior that sound had had nearly scared me to death and yet now I had a complete different feeling. Standing next to Edmund, our arms brushing as we walked, I felt my stomach clench and I felt as if bees were buzzing around in my stomach.

Coming up to my room, Edmund pushed open the door and motioned for me to go in ahead of him. My eyes burned as I entered my light-streaked room although Edmund seemed unaware of the change of light and simply strolled over to wooden closet.

"You won't find anything in there, I haven't unpacked yet" I sheepishly stated with a nod towards my saddle bags.

"Susan had some dresses made for you" Edmund stated.

"Su-Susan had dresses made for me?" I asked shocked.

"Yes, now stop standing there with you mouth wide open and get dressed" Edmund huffed impatiently.

"Yes sir" I laughed, pulling the closet doors open more.

Three dresses hung from a high rack and I smiled at Susan's kindness. Two of the dresses were seemed very formal and with a quick glance I could tell they would need a corset, something that I was defiantly not going to wear in fact all hell would freeze over before I Mary Hayes wore a corset. The last dress on the rack was violet hunting dress.

_'Perfect'_ I thought happily.

I pulled it out and turned to Edmund, a surprised look coming over his features.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing..it is just Susan and Lucy usually take _forever _to decide what they are going to wear and you...well you just took about thirty seconds to decide" he laughed.

"I'm not Susan and Lucy" I shrugged.

"I would hope not" Edmund said with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

I gave a quick roll of my eyes and shooed Edmund out the door so that I could dress. I threw my dirty and now ripped riding clothes onto the chair by the window.

_'I can deal with them later' _I reassured myself.

Slipping the soft, cotton dress on, I realized that this dress was unlike the few hunting dresses Mrs Beaver had made for me, this one had a tied up back. I tried to twist my arms around to get the ties but nothing seemed to work. With a groan of frustration, I reluctantly marched open to the door to peer out at Edmund.

"Ready?" Edmund asked.

"No" I replied. "Could you get Lucy or Susan?" I asked.

"Why?" he inquired.

"I need someone to tie up the back" I admitted, feeling my blood rush to my cheeks as he raised a dark eyebrow.

"I can" he shrugged.

_'What!'_

I scrunched my nose up and looked up at him. "Do you know how to?" I asked.

"Mary, I have two sisters, what do you think?" he shot back, pushing the door open.

Edmund directed me in front of the mirror and swept my hair of one of my shoulders to keep it out of his way. His fingers felt cool against the tender skin of my back and felt chills run up my spine as I felt his fingers delicately lacing up the strings to my dress.

Finally I felt the last pull, yanking on my shoulder blades. My head was down because I was to nervous to look up at Edmund for fear that I would turn scarlet from embarrassment. Although even after the last pull I didn't feel Edmund step away so I risked a glance up into the mirror. Without even realizing it, his arms had snaked around my waist and half of his face was buried in the crook of my neck, his warm breath tickling on my bare skin.

Edmund moved slightly,lifting his head so that I could make out more of his face. His lips held such a loving smile, something I had seen my father give my mother and my grandfather give my grandmother.

The image that was portrayed in the mirror was hypnotizing and I was compelled to watch. I tried to look away, to break out of Edmund's grasp but something held me there. My eyes locked on the mirror, the reflection suddenly began to change. Our faces seemed older and the way we held ourselves was more like adults then two teenagers.

Edmund's face still held the same smile and his arms still held me to him. Suddenly something flickered in the corner of my vision. I tried to shift my head to look but I was still frozen in place, unable to move.

Slowly I felt warmth creep into my left hand, that I realized now felt frozen. His hand was clasped around my fingers and I watched him rotate my hand, warmth still spreading through my chilled fingers until I saw it.

The silver band was tightly encircled around my finger, a small glittering diamond in the middle of two beautiful rubies. The light glimmered off of the band and I gasped at the glint of red of my left ring finger.

"I love you" Edmund lips murmured into ear.

Hearing Edmund's words I felt as in a noose had been tied around my neck, choking every last breath air out of my lungs.

_'Edmund couldn't love me, it was impossible he was a King and I was nothing. We were just friends'_

The noose continued to get tighter, constricting my air until the reflection shattered. Slowly I reached my left hand up to look at it but there was nothing there.

_'Of course there is nothing, why would there be something there?' _I questioned myself.

I pushed Edmund away and he stumble back, a strange coldness shrouded over me as I moved to put some distance between the two of us. I took deep breaths relieved that tightness around my throat had disappeared.

"Are you alright?" Edmund asked, sounding confused.

At Edmund's words I scrunched up my nose, how exactly could I explain to him what I just saw without freaking him out. Sighing I realized I couldn't, there was no logical way to explain to him what I saw.

"Nothing, can we go to dinner now I'm a bit hungry" I said, edging towards the door.

Edmund's expression seemed unhappy but he forced a smile, masking his true feelings. Something that I imagine he had to do often as a king.

Edmund opened the door and lead me down the hallway, I followed closely behind him in silence still contemplating what I had seen.

Had it been a vision into the future or just my imagination running wild?

_'I need to stop thinking of him that way, he's a king and I'm just a teenage girl. He will fall in love with a princess and that will be that'_ I concluded silently.

I glance up at Edmund and pushed my lips into a sad smile.

_'but if I had it my way, I would wish that he would fall in love with me'_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

I rested my hand against the cold glass and giggled as I felt the bite of the cool glass ripple up through my arm. December had finally come, bringing the frosty wind and perfect, diamond snowflakes that covered the land in a blanket of white. December also brought the excitement of Christmas and for Susan another reason to plan a ball.

Lucy sat by the fire across from me, her hand moving in a fluid motion as she worked on her latest sketch. Susan was spending the day with her ladies in waiting, a young women or _daughters of eve _as they called them in Narnia from far off island countries.

Most of them looked exactly the same, perfectly tanned skin with light blonde hair that curled gently at the ends. Susan had introduced me to a few of her ladies in my first few weeks at Cair Paravel but I found it exhausting to be around them. It seemed that all they were interested in was their vanity and the recent court gossip.

Luckily Lucy heartily agreed that she would rather clean all of the floors in Cair Paravel with her toothbrush then spend an hour with Susan's ladies. So Lucy and I decided to skip afternoon tea and spend our afternoon in her room. Unfortunately for me, inspiration for a new drawing struck Lucy and so my afternoon had turned into me staring out longingly at the wonderland that laid just beyond the stone walls of the castle.

I had never felt so bored in my life, I desperately wanted to go out and do something but the Pevensies were weary of me leaving the castle grounds without an escort because I was still unfamiliar with Narnia. So the chances of me getting out today were slim, everyone seemed busy with something.

Frustrated with my boredom, I let my head lull against the window pane and allowing the icy weather to freeze against the exposed skin of my forehead.

_'Perhaps, I should take a nap'_ I pondered but crinkled my nose at the thought of wasting daylight.

"Good afternoon ladies" I smooth voice spoke, scaring me out of my thoughts.

"Afternoon Peter" Lucy said, without looking up from her drawing.

"High King Peter" I smiled, with a slight head bow.

"Mary" he answered with a smile.

"Is everything alright Peter?" Lucy asked, giving her brother a quick glance.

"Oh, yes, everything is fine Lu, I was just wondering if the two of you would like to accompany me on a ride to Owlwood?" he requested.

"Oh... well that sounds wonderful but I really can't today" Lucy sighed "I just got a new idea and if I leave I will forget."

"And you Mary?" Peter asked "Would you care to go for a ride, get out of the castle for a while."

"Yes!" I exclaimed happily, jumping off the window seat.

"After you milady" Peter said, motioning for me to go ahead.

After a quick stop at both Peter and my own bedchambers, to grab some warm clothes and cloaks we ran off towards the stables. Well, Peter walked and I ran. Peter had very long legs and I had to run to keep up with him.

_'Thank god we're not walking to Owlwood'_ I thought as I headed over to Callia's stall area.

"Hey Call" I said, leaning over the edge.

At the sound of _hey _Callia's head perked right up and she trudged over to me.

"Did you say you had hay?" she asked hopefully.

"No I said hey... with an e" I said, trying to explain "It's like hello."

"You and your silly language" she neighed shaking her head "you got my hopes all up for nothing."

"Oh come off it Callia, you have a bunch of oats over there" I claimed.

"It is not fresh hay" she snorted.

I gave a small huff of frustration, Edmund said she gets grumpy when she's stuck in her stall to long and that was becoming quite evident now.

"Well I know something that will cheer you up" I sang.

"And that is?" she inquired.

"A ride to Owlwood" I stated.

She gave a small smirk and then said "And will his majesty King Edmund be joining us along with that pompous horse Phillip?" she questioned.

"No" I answered, beginning to collect her tack.

"So are we going by ourselves?" she pondered.

"No King Peter is coming" I stated.

"High King Peter!" she gasped.

"Yes" I said slowly, confused at her reaction.

"But-but your suppose to be with..." she started but stopped suddenly as of realizing she was saying something she shouldn't have.

"I'm suppose to be with who?" I asked.

"No one" she answered with a shake of her mane.

"Are you ready to go Mary?" Peter's voice flitted through the room, his boots making a soft tapping noise against the stone floor.

"Not yet" I admitted, giving Callia a quick glare.

"You know Mary, I am a bit tired and I think that I am just going to go to bed" she yawned.

"But you were just-" I started.

"About to tell you how tired I am" Callia repeated.

"Fine" I huffed, placing her saddle back up on its rail "Be that way."

"I will be" she answered and then pranced off to the back of her stall.

I trudged over to Peter, who I could tell was holding in laughter.

"Edmund was right the two of you are quite that match for each other" he chuckled.

"What?" I asked, my cheeks suddenly burning.

"You and Callia, you are quite the pair" he ststed.

"Callia.. right, Callia and I" I stuttered.

"Come on, let us get you a horse" Peter said.

"Hey, slow down there bunny rabbit" Peter teased as I pushed Nabel faster to race ahead of Peter and Sarfa.

Pulling on the reins I slowed Nabel down into a halt and laughed at Peter's nickname.

"Bunny rabbit?" I asked.

"Yes, bunny rabbit" Peter confirmed.

"You have no idea how funny that is to hear from you" I giggled.

"Why?" he asked, pulling Sarfa up next to me.

"Peter your nineteen and your a King.. heck, your the _High_ King" I emphasized.

Peter just laughed and dismounted Sarfa. He then offered me a hand as I threw my leg over Nabel which I gladly took.

After removing all of the horses tack, Peter and I sat down a ledge never a small frozen creek.

"So" Peter said slowly.

"So what?" I asked with a teasing tone.

"So tell me about yourself, my siblings seem to be quite taken with you" he stated.

"Oh, is that so?" I questioned.

"Yes but I feel as if we barely know each other, so if you are to be part of the family I need to know a few things" he claimed.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Anything" he responded.

"There really isn't much to tell..." I started until Peter gave me a look that read _'don't start.'_

"Okay, okay...well, I'm fifteen, I've lived in Alberta for my entire life except until recently" I said, motioning my hand to the forest for emphasis.

"When I turn eighteen I'm going to take over my family's bookstore...umm... my favourite colour is green.. oh, my birthday is April 15th but please don't tell Susan if she knew she go and make a huge deal out of it and I really don't want that" I pleaded.

"By Aslan's mane you sound like Ed" Peter laughed. "And I promise not to tell Susan" he promised.

"Thank you" I replied.

"So another note Edmund told me something interesting" Peter hinted.

"Oh and that would be?" I asked.

"He told me about finding you wandering the hallways with a pair of scissors" he laughed.

Instantly I felt heat rise to my cheeks, Edmund had seemed to find that incident very amusing and brought it up as much as he could to tease me about it.

"Yes and?" I prompted.

"And Ed says that it wasn't the first time he found you with something... sharp" he smiled.

I gave Peter a dark glare hoping that he would drop the subject, I had more then enough teasing from Edmund to last me the rest of my life time.

Peter gave one last chuckle before finally responding "Sorry."

"It's fine" I said dismissively.

Returning my gaze to the horizon I suddenly realized that the evening had arrived. Red and orange danced through the sky, colouring the clouds and the winter sky.

"Peter we better get going or the kingdom will be in an uproar" I voiced with a teasing tone.

"An uproar you say?" he asked.

"Yes everyone will be wondering as to where the High King has gone" I reminded.

"Oh yes well I suppose we should be off" he responded, jumping up. "Although something had been nagging at me since early this afternoon" he said.

"And that would be?" I asked beginning to once again saddle Nabel up.

"Well if you are the rabbit does that make me the tortoise?" he questioned giving Sarfa's saddle one last pull.

I pondered his question for a moment, '_Why is he asking that?'_

"Yes.. I suppose so" I answered slowly "Why do you ask?"

Peter cocked his head to the side and then said "If you are the rabbit and I am the tortoise that means in the end I win."

"You win? What is that suppose to-"

But I didn't get a chance to finish my sentence because Peter had already swung himself up onto Sarfa and had taken off down the path.

_'Why that sly little-'_

"Peter wait...that's not fair!" I yelled after him but I got no response in return. "Ugh stupid boy King" I ranted to myself as I jumped onto Nabel's back.

With a light kick Nabel and I were off like a shot, trailing behind Peter.

_'His majesty is in for a royal beating'_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

_Third Person POV_

_'Where in the world could they be'_ Edmund thought angrily as he paced the floor of his room. Peter and Mary had left hours ago, to go for a _short _ride out into Owl Wood but they had not return yet and dinner was only a half hour away.

Edmund trusted his brother more then anyone on the planet but the ladies of court flocked to him, and more then often fell for his charm. Edmund grinded his teeth together, surely Mary wouldn't fall for Peter. She was far to intelligent to be pining after the High King like a lost puppy.

But perhaps he could be wrong. Was it possible that Mary could fall for the wit and charm of his eldest brother, of the High King? Edmund shook his head, why was he so angry? So what if Mary fell in love with Peter it wouldn't change anything, she would still be Mary. She would just want to spend more time with Peter and she wouldn't care about spending time with him. No more horseback riding, no more late night reading sessions, no more wrestling in the fall leaves or in the fresh snow.

The more Edmund thought about the loss of his friendship with Mary the more upset he became. Enraged by the little control he had of the situation, Edmund curled his fingers into his palm.

"Edmund, Edmund are you coming to dinner" Lucy's voice flitted through the doorway.

"Yes, I will be down in a moment" he said through his teeth.

"Well hurry up or Peter will eat your helping" Lucy chided.

Uncurling his fists and moving with lightning speed, Edmund ripped open the door to find a surprised Lucy.

"Peter's back?" he questioned.

"Yes and-" Lucy started.

"and what of Mary, has she returned to?" Edmund asked.

"yes she-" Lucy again began to say.

"Well hurry up Lu, we do not want to keep everyone waiting" Edmund exclaimed rushing past her.

Lucy huffed to herself, muttering something about men before she followed suit and ran after her brother.

_Mary's POV_

"Peter was that really necessary?" I asked, referring to him and Sarfa speeding off and leaving only hoof prints for Nabel and I to follow back to Cair Paravel.

Peter laughed but responded "No, I am sorry I should have waited but I forgot that you did not know the way home."

"How can you forget something like that?" I asked incredulously.

"You do not act as if you are new, in fact you act as if you have lived in Narnia your entire life" Peter admitted,"And Mary could you do me a favour?"

"I suppose so" I said slowly.

"Please do not tell Edmund about our little..._race, _Edmund will have my head if he were to find out" he stated sheepishly.

I laughed at Peter's nervous expression, "Edmund would have your head, eh? Well maybe I should tell him."

"Please Mary" he pleaded.

"Fine" I sighed, kicking a rock further down the path that we were walking along.

Entering the castle, Peter and I were immediately greeted by some of the kitchen staff who were setting the table for their majesties.

"Good evening you majesty" a tiger said, "Your siblings are already in the dining hall and have been notified of your return."

"Thank you Kira" Peter acknowledged before continuing down the hallway towards the dining room.

Skipping along behind Peter, my boots tapped against the castle floor filling the odd silence. When it came to noise in the castle it was a very interesting thing. You could be in a very loud part of the palace such as the kitchen, where servants are yelling and pots are being picked up and dropped but as soon as you leave and close the door there is immediate silence.

Drawing closer to the dining hall I began to hear quiet chatter and soon recognized the voices. The door was cracked and I could see Susan speaking to a few of her ladies.

"Evening Susan" announced Peter as he stepped into the room.

"Evening" she said with a polite nod. "Oh Mary there you are!" she exclaimed as her gaze finally drifted to me.

"Hello Susan" I said with a timid wave.

"Will you be joining us for dinner?" she asked.

"Um... well.. I..uh..was kind of thinking of going back to my room" I stammered.

"But you have not eaten anything all day" Peter said.

"You must stay for dinner then" Susan dictated.

"Oh no I really don't want to intrude" I continued to stammer.

All I really want was to go upstairs to my bedchambers and change into a new tunic and leggings but of course Susan was going to make that all the more difficult.

"There is no use fighting Susan on this Mary, you might as well just give in now" I heard Edmund's voice say as he strolled into the room.

"Edmund!" I shrieked, running over to hug him.

As I collided with him, I felt him stubble back slightly shocked form the sudden impact.

"Sorry" I said embarrassed, I could feel heat burning on my cheeks and I prayed to goodness that Edmund couldn't see it. "I missed you" I shrugged.

Edmund chuckled and gave me a crooked grin, something that made my hear melt every time before walking past me to greet Peter.

_'Why? Why must I feel this way for him? He is a King and I'm a commoner, heck I'm a commoner from another world! It's not acceptable here for a King to love a commoner but then again Edmund doesn't seem to care maybe people wouldn't mind if...'_

Risking a glance over at Susan's ladies my hopeful thinking was soon squashed like a bug on a windshield. The small group of about four ladies were glaring at me and I mentally shuddered as I met Lady Alrin's hate filled gaze.

_'Well scratch that, if that's the look I'm getting for giving him a hug I would hate to think of the look I would get if Edmund and I were to be together'_

Averting my gaze from the burning stares, I shuffled my way over to the table where Peter and Edmund were already sitting. Susan was excusing her ladies for the evening when Lucy finally strolled in.

"Good evening Mary" she greeted.

"Hey Lu" I waved, "Did you finish you drawing?"

"Yes I did and I am very happy with it" she smiled. "Did you and Peter have a nice afternoon?" she inquired.

"Yeah it was fun" I replied, throwing Peter a quick wink.

"Well luckily, Lucy is done her drawing and you can spend some time with some civilized company" Susan added, teasing Peter.

"Now just a moment there-" Peter began.

I shook my head at the Pevensies and smiled to myself. Lucy was right I could be happy here but I couldn't stop the nagging pull at my stomach. Seeing the four siblings together reminded me of my family and at that moment I wanted nothing more then to be back home.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Hey everyone, so I am very sorry about the longwait for this chapter, school has been extra busy lately with midterms but anyway I would like to give a HUGE thank you to Sammy lol xox. The two of us have been collaberating over this story and she has been a big help with being my beta. This chapter is also co-wrote with her so again I would like to thank her for all of her wonderful help.**

**Also at the moment she is currently working on her New Golden Age story which is a Lucy/Caspian pairing. It is a really amazing story and I recommend to anyone. So please go and check her stories out because they are AMAZING.**

**Anyway enjoy and please please review. I love to hear what you guys think.  
**

**-xcatiex :D**

The warmth of my bedside candle flickered across my cheeks and the back my book as I closed the now finished novel. I gave a sigh of frustration as I realized I was once again with absolutely nothing to do.

I had unfortunately been left to spend another day inside of my room because Narnia was being hit by what seemed to be a never ending blizzard. Already the Narnians had been locked away in their homes for almost a week now and I was starting to grow weary of the long days spent inside of the castle.

Susan had been dragging Lucy away most afternoons now to have tea with her ladies-in- waiting because Lucy was only two years away from being sixteen and a true 'lady' of court. Of course Lucy wanted absolutely nothing to do with any of it but as Queen she was forced to part take in such matters. Luckily for me though I had been spared the horrible afternoons spent with Lady Alrin and the rest of Susan's group of giggling hyenas.

Within the first week of me arriving I was already hearing horrible things said about me and they lead back to the same person, Lady Alrin. Of course when Susan had introduced us she had been perfectly pleasant but the second she left to attend to other business the tides changed so fast it was like a tsunami. She immediately began to glare down at me as if I were bug on her windshield. Hissing a few distasteful words, things along the line of "You do not belong at court" and "Why don't you just got back to where you came from" and of course the worst reminder of all "Oh, I forgot you don't have a home or a family for that matter."

After that incident I decided it would be best to avoid her like the plague but she had decided that she wasn't done with me yet. A few days ago I had been walking back to my room after spending the morning with Edmund trying to help him find his roll of parchment paper that he had somehow managed to lose in his 'not a speck of dust anywhere' room and had overheard her gossiping away with a few of the other ladies. Being the nosy-parker that I am, I let curiosity get the better of me and eavesdropped on their conversation.

They whispered away to each other about how _dreamy_ Peter was and I tried not to be sick and their elaborate descriptions of how his hair shone like the morning sun and his eyes were like the Eastern Sea and just as I was about to walk away my name was suddenly dropped like a bombshell into the conversation.

I sat for the next fifteen minutes, hidden behind a wall listening to the chatter on about how I had no respect for any of them, I was childish, immature and mindless and apparently a barbarian because I enjoyed wearing leggings and tunics. Eventually they strolled away, their heels clicking the whole way and I was finally left to let the tears roll down my cheeks. I had been trying to fit in, I really was but I was awkward I never knew quite what to say or how to act.

I had tried to contain myself but the tears kept falling so I had ran back to my room as fast as I could and dropped down on the bed, crying myself to sleep. I hadn't bothered to tell anyone cause I figured that they would say that I shouldn't let comments like that get to me and I was in no mood to hear that. So instead I had just buried it beneath the surface and forced myself to pretend that it never happened.

Anyway, Edmund and Peter were trying to get ahead on some of their paper work because it was impossible for them to attend to any jobs outside of Cair Paravel's walls. So that left me by myself with absolutely nothing to do but read. I love reading don't get me wrong but after six days of reading books like _Is Man a Myth? _you start to wonder if perhaps talking to the wall might more more engaging.

I flopped back down onto my bed and deciding that a nap might suffice for now, at least until I could think of something better. Surely enough, the moment I laid my head back, I felt my eyelids close and I gave into the temptress that was sleep.

I seemed to float, my body hovering in a vast black space. Nothing was around me. I felt something drape suddenly against my ankles and looking down, I saw that my dress had turned pure white and it was shimmering like a moonbeam. It was quite pretty... for a dress. As I admired it, a faint humming noise began to murmur around me and into my ear. It was a soft and musical humming which slowly grew louder until I seemed to be surrounded by a symphony of sound. The tones were as sweet and soft and danced around me in perfect harmony.

I let my head lull back, wanting desperately to bathe into the beautiful melodies as one would in a tub of hot water. It was soothing and I felt every tense muscle in my body relax and uncoil.

My vision blurred again with white and I was forced to close my eyes from the brightness. Allowing my senses to take over, a sudden wave of aromas wafted through me and almost as if they were carried by a summer breeze I suddenly realized they were all from wild flowers.

But there was something else. Something not natural but in an odd way recognizable. As I sniffed the air to get a sense of what it was, I felt two strong hands place themselves upon my shoulders. Right away, I knew who the person was just as I now could name the familiarly strange scent: Edmund and his delicious cologne.

"Mary," he said, a smile in his voice. The song harmonizing with his every word.

"Edmund," I sighed, relaxing into his grasp. I felt him kneel down so that he was on his knees behind me. His hands moved from my shoulders to trail down my arms, leaving goosebumps to prickle up from underneath the fabric of my sleeves. My bottom lip trembled from the shivers he left on my skin.

His hands then found mine and we slowly rose so that we were standing together, my back against his chest. He turned me in his arms so that I was facing him and then the flutes began to play a soft ballad. Edmund began to hum along, his voice sounding amazingly deep compared to the high register of the beautiful instruments that were still invisible.

We began to sway, Edmund leading me in a light and easy waltz which barely required any footwork. A lucky break for me because when it came down to it i had about as much grace as an elephant.

Just as we were getting into the rhythm of the dance and I was finally relaxing into Edmund's arms, the melody suddenly began to change. The song became menacing and it sounded dangerous and my newly relaxed muscles immediately tensed.  
"What's wrong?" Edmund asked me, not letting go of my hands. I could hear the worry in his voice.

I tried to turn my head but could see no one else in the meadow but us. So why did the song suddenly sound so threatening? Edmund pulled me into his chest and began to whisper "It's okay, Mary. It's okay" as the melodies grew louder and louder and louder. The wind picked up and the meadow that had been filed with sunshine was beginning to darken into a threatening storm.

"Traitor," a voice whispered softly but I could barely hear it over the awakening storm and then menacing melodies that echoed in my ears.

"What?" I asked, turning out of Edmund's embrace to face look out into the meadow.

"No one is there, Mary. What's gotten into you?" Edmund asked of me.

"Traitor." Not a question, a statement. Still spoken in a whisper but it was somehow louder and much stronger. It was if someone was speaking directly into my ear.

"What?" I asked again, twirling around, trying to find who had spoken. Yet there was no one but Edmund and I. As my heart began to beat faster and faster, the song grew stronger and stronger until it suddenly stopped. A dead silence taking over.

Then, out of the silence, a voice I didn't recognize seemed to penetrate through me. A woman's voice that was filled with ice.

"That boy will die on the Stone Table!" the voice boomed, filling me. I trembled with fear.

"What boy?" I asked into the nothingness of the air around me. Edmund reached forward and took my hand.

"That boy, that boy, that boy," the voice continued to chant, repeating the words over and over like a mantra.

I turned around to look at Edmund but he was gone. Everything around me was dead, the flowers had withered up and the grass had turned into a sickening brown. My knees felt weak and I collapsed to the ground, scraping my knees on the dried grass.

"Edmund!" I screamed, my voice quivering with fright,

"That boy, that boy, that boy," the voice now screeched.

"Who is the boy?" I asked him, hating how scared I sounded.

"That boy, that boy, that boy,"

STOP!" I yelled, tear brimming at my eyes.

And that was when everything stopped. The voices faded away and I was once again left in the dead silence. I could feel my muscles trembling and my fingers clawed at the dirt.

"Edmund?" I asked timidly, my voice worn from my screaming. "Edmund?"

"Edmund isn't here dear" the voice began again, but this time it was different. It didn't fill the air around me it was as if was...

I whipped around and found myself standing in front of a tall woman. Her hair was so blonde it was almost white and her skin looked like the land after the first snowfall of the year. Her face held a kind smile but her eyes were cold and I could see there was no emotion behind them, it was as if she had no soul to speak of.

"Wh-where is he?" I stuttered.

"The traitor is gone" she stated, inclining her head.

"Tr-traitor?" I again stumbled.

"Yes, the traitor" she laughed.

She continued to giggle to herself until her cold eyes fell onto me again.

"Oh! You do not know what the little king did, do you?" she asked but it sounded more like a statement then a question.

"Well then let me tell you then..." she began. "That boy betrayed the Narnians, his family and of course the _Great Lion Aslan_" she sneered.

"Edmund's not a traitor" I cried back at her.

"You are wrong!" she screamed, her face contorting with rage, "You will see, once you let your guard down he will betray you just as he did to everyone before." "If he could betray his own family what makes you think he won't hurt you hm?" she questioned.

"I-I-I" stumbling over my words I couldn't think of a response to her question.

She laughed down at me, "Mary dear, you have no one, you are all by yourself" she stated, crouching down.

"You do not know..." she began, her long and bony fingers reaching out to slip under my chin but as her finger touched my skin she suddenly screamed.

"NOOOOOOO" she screamed, reeling away from me. She clutched her hand and I could hear her skin sizzling.

_'What's going on?' _

I screamed as the storm suddenly picked up again, raining suddenly pouring down from the heavens and the wind echoing the woman's shrieks.

Releasing her hand, she lurched forward reaching for me again and I had never felt more fear in my life as her long fingernails extended towards my neck and her eyes flashed with pure rage. She wanted to _kill _me_. _

But just as she was about to touch me, the roar of an angry Lion ripped through the storm.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

My eyes flew open, the roar still echoing in my ears. The blankets twisted around and tightly held my thrashing limbs as I attempted to get free of its hold. Finally beginning to compose myself, I rolled over onto my side, clutching my chest as I tried to regain my breath.

My lungs filled with perfect clean air and I sighed as the burning ache for air in my chest began to subside.

That was until two strong arms captured me in an iron embrace. A frightened scream bubbled over my lips as I instinctively began to thrash again. I dug my fingernails into the arms, aiming to draw blood which earned me a hiss of pain but the iron grip remained strong.

With a quick twist, I was able to get one of my arms completely free and within a second, I had drawn my arm forward and slammed it into my attacker's stomach with as much force as I could muster.

I heard a familiar groan of pain as the arms suddenly let go and the weight that I hadn't realized disappeared. A dull thud sounded which was shortly followed by a agonizing moan.

Peeking over the bed, my eyes found a young man curled into a ball, clutching his stomach. Dark hair covered his face and I gave a shocked gasp as I suddenly realized who was on the floor moaning in agony.

"Edmund!" I shrieked, dropping to my knees beside him. "Oh... I am so sorry, I thought...I thought you were...um. someone else" I stuttered.

"It is alright" he groaned in pain.

Edmund slowly sat up, his left arm wrapped tightly around his stomach. A painful moan escaped his lips as he pulled himself up to sit in a chair.

"I am so sorry!" I exclaimed, helping him into the chair.

"Mary, it is fine" Edmund replied slowly with a laugh, suddenly sitting up straight. "You did not really hurt me, it was more of a shock then anything" he laughed.

"What!" I asked shocked.

Edmund pushed himself out of the chair, "See I am perfectly fine".

I glared up at his tall form and pursued my lips. I felt torn between my emotions. A part of me was happy that he wasn't hurt, another angry that he had tricked me and another embarrassed because I had always like to think I was strong and could fight someone off if need be but at the moment I fight like a young child trying to open the tightly closed pickle jar.

I gave a small growl under my breath and turned on my heel, walking away from Edmund's chuckling figure.

"Oh Mary, now don't be like that" he said, still laughing.

Glancing at the bed, I realized my sheets were in a disarray from my nightmare so I shuffled over to avoid Edmund and began to smooth out the sheets. My fingers felt cold as I touched the sheets remembering the dream.

It had seemed so real, nothing had been hazy and every detail was stuck sharply in my memory. I could still feel hate in her eyes burning down on me and the woman's words echoed in my ears, rattling me.

Getting lost in my thoughts, I was suddenly brought back to reality as two arms wrapped around my torso.

"Please don't be angry, I hate it when your upset" Edmund whispered into my ear.

He turned me around in his arms and smiled down at me, "I'm sorry."

I pulled my lips in trying not to smile but failed as I giggle bubble over my lips. "I got you" I laughed, pushing away from him.

Edmund cocked his head to the side and gave me a playful scowl, "Why you little sneak!" he grinned.

"Takes one to know one" I shot back as quick as a whip.

"Oh you are going to get it!" Edmund exclaimed, lurching forward.

As he jumped forward after me, time seemed to abruptly slow down. He was so different but as he reached closer a sudden flash happened before my eyes and I could see the woman again. Her eyes alight with a burning fire, her fingernails reaching for me.

Terror struck my heart again and I could hear a scream bouncing off the walls that matched my fear. Clarity finally began to reach me and time surged forward.

I tried to jump out of the way but Edmund quickly had wrapped me in his grip of steel and I could do nothing but flail my limbs wildly trying to get away.

"Ed!" I shrieked as he swung me around the room in his arms.

"Yes?" he asked slowly, placing my feet back on the ground but not letting go.

"Let me go" I demanded.

"Does that mean you give?" he teased, knowing full well that I would not admit defeat.

Within our first few weeks of meeting I had found out that Edmund was quite the diplomatic and according to Lucy and Susan he never lost a fight. Although, I was about as stubborn as a pack mule and refused to ever admit that Edmund was right or had won. So of course now that he had me in a position of weakness, he of course was going to make me confess my loss.

"Absolutely not!" I said defiantly.

"Well I suppose you leave me with no choice" he growled playfully.

I shrieked as his hands moved swiftly across my stomach, tickling every inch of me.

"Ed!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, shortly followed shrieks of laughter as he mercilessly tickled me. "Ed...please stop!" I continued to wail.

"Not until you give up" he responded quickly, swinging me around.

"No! Under absolutely no circumstances!" I replied sharply, struggling to pull away from him.

"Mary, will you stop struggling, you are not going to get away from me" Edmund shrugged.

"That's. What. You. Think" I said, punctuating each word.

Grabbing onto the end of my bed I began to wiggle out of Edmund's grasp but he easily pulled me away and re-wrapped his arms around me.

I growled to myself as he pulled me away, _'Enough already!'_

Raising my foot slightly, I slammed it into the top of Edmund's foot, the bony part that comes right before the ankle. Within seconds I had been released and Edmund was limping over to my chair.

I gave a smirk of triumphant as he sat down giving me a slight glare. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that one actually hurt."

Edmund crinkled his nose, arguing "No, I was just surprised."

"You little liar" I accused, "that had to of hurt and you're limping!"

"What did you call me?" Edmund asked, a cold tone now controlling his voice.

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion, "What?"

"What did you call me!" he questioned again, his eyes visibly darkening.

"I...I..just said you were lying..I" I stumbled over my words as they caught in my throat.

_'Why was he reacting like this?' _

Edmund pursued his lips, obviously mulling what I had stuttered. Finally he shook his head and brushed passed me.

"Ed-" I started, reaching out to him but he avoided my touch.

"I will see you later" he interrupted.

His voice was cold but I could hear pain in his voice and with sudden clarity I could tell that I had unknowingly hit a nerve.

My face dropped as I suddenly thought of the dream again. That woman had called Edmund a traitor.

_'Oh no, it couldn't be true could it!'_

I gasped, pieces in my head were starting to fit together and I realized that there was now something else they hadn't told me, or at least Edmund hadn't. I scrunched up my nose, how many secrets were they going to keep from me?

_'That's it I'm tired of being left out, if Edmund isn't going to tell me then I'm just going to figure it out for myself!' _


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N : Hey Everyone! So I am really sorry with how long it took me to write this chapter. I have had a bit of writers block this week and its been difficult getting the chapter to sound just the way I wanted it to. **

**Anyway please review because they help me know how you guys are feeling about the plot and help me to get better. Thanks guys!**

* * *

I twirled my light hair around my finger as I watched the snow swirl through the darkened heavens. Nighttime had fallen and I sat silently staring out the window. My empty stomach grumbling angrily, begging me to go join the four monarchs for dinner but I couldn't bear to see Edmund.

I sighed, he had been so angry with me. I hadn't meant to upset him, I didn't know that _liar_ was such a sensitive word. How in the world was I suppose to know this stuff if he didn't tell me?  
I have put all of my faith into the Pevensies, trusting that they would. do the same but so far it seems that they have a knack for keeping secrets and keeping me in the dark. Grounding my fingers into the dark wood of the chair, I cried out as splinter poked at my skin.

Growling in frustration, I kicked the chair away. The delicate chair hit the floor with a loud bang.

Trying to calm down I took a few deep breaths. Everything in this world was so different, at home I had always been in control of my life. I had had everything planned out, nothing was left to chance. But here I had no control in anything and I was tired of being in the dark, tired of secrets and rumours and gossip.

If no one was going to tell me anything then I suppose it was time fro me to figure it out on my own.

**-A few hours later-**

Quietly I pried my door open and glanced down the hallway. The hallway was empty save for the flickering lanterns that swung in the small breeze that drifted through the corridor.

I slipped out the door silently and plucked a lantern off a hook. The hinge of the lantern creaked as I dropped it to my side. The light from the lantern stretched ahead, creating a cast of dark, spooky shadows.

Taking a deep breath, I shuffled along the long corridors of the castle until I finally reached the tall oak doors of the library. Hoping that there was perhaps a book that could tell me something of when the Pevensies first arrived in Narnia. It was the only thing that seemed to make logical sense. Lucy left parts out of her story of how they came to Narnia and she barely mentioned Edmund. It may have been a long shot but there was still a chance.

Two hours later I collapsed into one of the large reading chairs near the back of the library. I hadn't found anything. There was not a single book that had anything on the Pevensies arrival in Narnia. Every record about the four monarchs started after their coronation.

I let my head lull back onto the chair, letting my thoughts rush through my brain. There had to be something on them!

My body ached with fatigue from the day and my searched and if it weren't for the bright moonbeams that illuminated the room, I most likely would have fallen asleep in the chair. But I knew that if I fell asleep, I would be left to the mercy of his _Just_ majesty who always visited the library at the crack of dawn.

With a groan of displeasure, I heaved myself out of the chair. But just as I believed myself to be steady my foot caught the hem of my dress and I was sent flying towards the tiled floor. I moaned as my tired limbs hit the floor, causing pain to ripple through my arms and knees.

Standing up, I leaned against a bookshelf to brush myself off but suddenly the bookshelf gave away and I was once again sent tumbling to the floor. I hissed to myself as I felt my temper flare, although a loud thud drew my attention away from my angry thoughts.

A small, tightly bound book laid right in front of my eyes, the metal clasp catching the moonlight. I gingerly reached my hand out an let my fingers touch the cool metal clasp. The book seemed to tingle underneath my touch and I gasped as the tingling stretched up my arm.

I ripped my hand away from the book and suddenly the clasp flew open. The pages flew open until I finally threw my hand, stopping the turning pages. My breath felt ragged in my lungs and I could feel my blood pounding in my ears.

Sliding my hand off the page, I saw that on one side it was covered in dark, curly writing and on the other a lightly sketched picture of the heartless, blonde woman from my dream and none other then the dark haired King and my dear friend, Edmund.


	15. IMPORTANT: Author's note

***IMPORTANT NOTE***

Hey guys, so it is really important that you please leave me some feedback on this note because this is a decision that will be based on how you all feel about both options.

When I began this story I had a plan made out of what was going to happen and some basic outlines of where I wanted to be with each chapter, mind you I have been finding for quite some time now that I am not meeting such deadlines and that the story is moving very, very slowly (which I apologize for).

Anyway I have been trying to think of some ways to pick it up but as I am writing I felt that some things are getting in the way and that if it picks up to the speed and place that I want it to be it will become a very mumbled up mess. So I have been thinking that last few days and have discussed this with a very close friend and came up with the idea of simply making an edited version.

The edited version will keep with about same story line but it will have a few cuts and small modifications. The main purpose of doing this is to simply speed up what is happening and Edmund and Mary's relationship.

Although this is the direction I'm leaning in I wanted to know how you all feel and if the majority of you are opposed then I will just continue with where it is now. Anyway the final decision will be made based on what you all say so please inbox me or leave a review so that I know.

Thanks everyone

xcatiex


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